The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the Belarusian army had positioned “a significant number of soldiers (…) in the Gomel region, near the northern border of Ukraine.”
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Ukraine on Sunday, August 25, accused Belarus, its neighbor and close ally of Russia, of “massage” troops on their border and warned Minsk against possible “unfriendly acts”The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Belarus “massing a significant number of troops (…) in the Gomel region, near the northern border of Ukraine, under the cover of maneuvers”.
“We warn Belarusian officials not to make a tragic mistake under pressure from Moscow, and we urge its armed forces to stop their unfriendly actions and withdraw forces from the border of Ukraine to a distance greater than the firing range of Belarus’ systems,” added Ukrainian diplomacy in a statement.
kyiv said it had registered the presence of Wagner militia fighters, some of whom are being hosted by Belarus after their leader’s failed rebellion in 2023. Ukraine has also warned that military exercises in the border area pose a threat to the “global security”, due to its proximity to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
“We emphasize that Ukraine has never undertaken and will never undertake unfriendly actions against the Belarusian people”the Foreign Ministry added. This statement comes as Ukraine has launched thousands of its troops since August 6 to attack the Russian border region of Kursk, seizing several hundred square kilometers – Volodymyr Zelensky claimed responsibility for “advances” Sunday – and that Russia continues its advance in eastern Ukraine.
